How to stop baby chicks from attacking the others? Can I raise her by herself?

[CutieBabyChicks]

Hi! So we decided to raise some chickens. The first 4, that we got from a local pet store, are just fine, at 3-4 weeks old now! They are quite nice, and super friendly! Now, we ordered a second batch of 5, and they came two days ago. Three Silkies, an Easter Egger, and a Polish chicken. One of the Silkies was already kinda huddling by herself, not super-active, etc. We noticed she had pasty butt, and treated her. But she just deteriorated, even though we gave her egg, sugar water, etc. She passed away a few minutes ago . In the process of watching them, we realized that one of the Silkies and the EE were quite vicious; they kept pecking at the now-dead Silkie and the Polish, who now has a bald spot from pecking and a bit of pasty butt. Even the second Silkie is relatively agressive, and she also engaged in some pecking. We treated the Polish with Blu-kote, and we put her and the second Silkie together, and put the two troublemakers, the first Silkie and the EE together in anoither box. The two naughty ones seem fine where they are, but the second Silkie seems quite unhappy - she keep calling out (the Polish also seems a tad bit unhappy, but maybe she is missing the third Silkie? I think they were kinda friends). I have a few options:

• Wait it out for a few hours, see what happens.
• Put all of them back together. But I don't want them to keep pecking the Polish, so...
• Isolate the Polish, and leave the other three together. However, I am not sure what the effects of this would be...

Also, I had another question: Why is this batch generally so mean? As I am writing this, the second Silkie has started to peck the Polish. Could it be because they were shipped, and they got traumatized too?? As far as I know, Silkies and EEs are generally quite nice.


Thanks!

 

[WalnutTree]

Chicks are naturally curious beings, so they will try and explore what anything is, and that includes dead things . Polish are usually targets for bullying because of their big poofs heads.
You didn't combine the chicks from the store and the ones shipped, right??
Chickens are VERY sociable creatures and like to be in groups (flocks), and that's how it has been from the very beginning. So they probably do not wish to be separated. To much handling and moving around baby chicks in their first days can cause stress and confusion, so try not to keep putting them in different places.

 

[CutieBabyChicks]

Chicks are naturally curious beings, so they will try and explore what anything is, and that includes dead things . Polish are usually targets for bullying because of their big poofs heads.
You didn't combine the chicks from the store and the ones shipped, right??
Chickens are VERY sociable creatures and like to be in groups (flocks), and that's how it has been from the very beginning. So they probably do not wish to be separated. To much handling and moving around baby chicks in their first days can cause stress and confusion, so try not to keep putting them in different places.

Oh really? I did not realize that they might be interested in her pom-pom head! Actually, I meant that she died because they pecked her - close to the end, we removed her from that box.

Oh no. The older chicks are like 3-4 weeks old, and 7x the size! They are like small pigeons now! We'll have to introduce them to each other later.

I know, but they are really aggressive towards the poor Polish, and I don;t want her to die too!!

 

[orloffer]

Hmm....I am not very experienced with chicks, and therefore cannot answer all of your questions. I know, however, that crested breeds are generally pecked by the others because of their fluffy feather heads. As WalnutTree said, it is probably best not to separate any chicks, as they are flock-oriented animals. Perhaps adding some hiding places could help? Some people break a terracotta pot such that it is shaped like a cave, and turn it upside down so it can work as a hiding place. A small cardboard box could work, too, but make sure it doesn't get too hot if you have a heat lamp in there.

 

[orloffer]

Oh no. The older chicks are like 3-4 weeks old, and 7x the size! They are like small pigeons now! We'll have to introduce them to each other later.

Don't introduce them to each other until they are bigger, as in all around the same size. And you wouldn't want one batch to give a disease to the other, either.

 

[Parront]

I like to give chicks something else to peck. A clump of grass with dirt & the roots is my favorite. Even young chicks need to peck something. More space can help, with hiding places as a previous poster said. How high is the temp? Sometimes picking is from being too hot. How old are the new chicks? Day old? Maybe some electrolytes/vitamins in the water. Pecking sometimes is because they need something that they do not have in the food. What kind of food are you giving? I know that this is a lot of stuff -- some delicate breeds like your polish are attractive to peck for the others and might give you trouble that you avoided with your first hardy group! Silkies are smaller, too. A more advanced chicken problem than the first batch! Good luck!

 

[ChickenCanoe]

That isn't uncommon. Chickens will try to drive off interlopers from the established flock.

When bringing birds from different sources, they need to be quarantined.

What state are you in? You need to send a dead bird to your state poultry lab for necropsy to determine if you are dealing with a contagious illness.

 

[CutieBabyChicks]

Sorry everyone, I think I kinda didn;t explain the situation properly.

So I have a group of oler chicks, who are irrelavent here. My new batch, a feew days old, has killed one of the weak chicks, and those three are picking on the other chick, a Polish. Since they are two days old, what I am going to do is go and get another one or two chicks from the store (probably either Ameracaunas, Buff Orpingtons, or Brahmas), and put them with the nice Polish, and the three bad ones can stayy together.

 

[WalnutTree]

I recommend Buff Orp or Brahma, definitely, because they are very nice, big chickens that the little silkies are less likely to stand up too. (Lean to Brahma more then Buff Orp)

 

[CutieBabyChicks]

I recommend Buff Orp or Brahma, definitely, because they are very nice, big chickens that the little silkies are less likely to stand up too. (Lean to Brahma more then Buff Orp)

Alright! We got the new chicks. The new ones are a few days younger, but the same size as the Polish. She is so happy now!!! As sson as we put one in, she ran out from the corner! So far, they seem to be behaving - if any of them misbehave, they go with the naughty ones.

We got:
A Light Brahma
An Americana (I've had good experiences with my older one)
A Barred Rock
A Black Australorp.